UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has rejected calls to quit after he refused to intervene to help evacuate Afghan translators from Kabul.
UK media reports said that Raab declined to interrupt a holiday to try and help the translators flee Afghanistan as the Taliban’s advance gathered pace.
Daily Mail newspaper said that he should have personally intervened to help evacuate the Afghan interpreters.
The paper accused Raab of failing to arrange assistance for Afghans who supported British troops who served in Afghanistan.
Raab, who was on holiday on the Greek island of Crete at the time, is alleged to have delegated the call to a junior minister.
However, opposition parties say this was an error of judgement that put interpreters’ lives at risk.
Asked in Downing Street if he would resign, Mr Raab replied: “No”.
Labour’s shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said: “How can Boris Johnson allow the foreign secretary to continue in his role after yet another catastrophic failure of judgement?
“If Dominic Raab doesn’t have the decency to resign, the prime minister must show a shred of leadership and sack him.”
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said Mr Raab had made “a massive error of judgement”. He tweeted: “His position is completely untenable and he must resign, or be sacked.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey also said on Twitter: “Raab must go”.
Britain to Receive 20,000 Afghan refugees
The UK government has earlier pledged to resettle about 20,000 Afghan refugees over the next
five years, following the Taliban’s recent take over of the country.
The government’s announcement came after videos of thousands of Afghans clinging to
planes, escaping the Islamist party control of the country.
Taliban announced on Sunday that they seized power in the country after entering the
capital and the presidential palace a few hours after the president fled the country.
The Taliban group surrounded the capital after the US and NATO forces withdrew from the
country, after 20 years of occupations and losses in billions of dollars and about 2000
troops killed.
